Peposo - Tuscan Red Wine Stew
Peposo is a traditional Tuscan Beef Stew originating from Florence. It truly is the simplest stew you'll ever make yet it has so much flavour. Made with garlic, lots of black pepper and a whole bottle of red wine, super delicious and perfect served with creamy polenta.
Servings: 4 - 6 servings
Calories: 605kcal
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef chuck or shank or stewing beef (1 kg) cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 bottle red wine Chianti or Sangiovese if possible
- 6 whole garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes or kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot, brown the beef on all sides for a minute or two (you might need to do this in batches so there is enough room).
- Add the beef and juices back to the pot (if browning in batches) and add the red wine, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on a medium-low heat for 1.5 hours, uncover the pot and continue to simmer the stew for another 1.5 hours until the liquid has reduced slightly.
- Top tip: once the stew is uncovered check it every so often and give it a stir to make sure it doesn't stick or the meat at the top dries out.
- The beef should be tender but not completely falling apart. Serve with creamy polenta and crusty bread.
Video
Notes
- The stew sauce is quite thin but that’s how it should be, if you prefer a thicker sauce simply whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1-2 teaspoon of water then add it to the stew at the end of cooking to thicken.
- Traditionally this stew is cooked in a terracotta pot but I like to use a Dutch oven. You can use any large pot you have as long as it has a lid to cover it.
- Use any good stewing beef for this, traditionally beef shank is used, I use beef chuck cut into chunks.
- Use freshly ground black pepper, don't use pre-ground pepper that you can buy at the supermarket because it doesn't taste as good.
- Whatever you do, do not use cooking wine! Use Chianti or San Genovese red or a good red wine that you would happily drink.
Nutrition
Calories: 605kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 773mg | Potassium: 1011mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 6mg